The generous addition of hops both during and at the end of the fermentation process (dry-hopping) gives our India Pale Ale its characteristic bitterness and piney citrus aroma and flavor. The medium body, crisp finish, and moderate alcohol and IBU levels makes this one of America’s most drinkable and best-selling IPAs.

Pours out a golden yellow color with super filtered clarity (I prefer my IPAs murky) and the same old single finger of foam collar without lacing or retention. Nearly all of my Redhook bottles in this session seem poorly carbonated for their relatively recent bottling dates...

Aroma and flavor has the very faint light pine resin and grapefruit peel of an extremely diluted APA, not an IPA. A floral finish is very hard to pick up on, but it is there if you let the glass breath a bit. Oh, what's this? The same old boring monotone caramel malt as every other 'craft' beer on the market? Indeed it is. Light, thin texture, which is fine, but the under-carbonation causes a lack of crispness and the bittering in the finish is muted and clumsy, not enough of it is present to balance out the sweetness.

Not so much a *bad* beer, but rather generic, muddled, and definitely NOT the IPA that it is labeled as... Beers that lie on their labels get bad reviews from me, I won't stand for the bait-and-switch! (1,036 characters)

Pours out as a dark golden chill haze yellow with a very thin head of off-white bubbles that disappear as fast as they arrive leaving a thin ring and minimal lace. Smell is more like a Bavarian lager then an IPA, I get mostly toasted grains and malts, smallish sweet citrus with a touch of grassy/floral hops, not to mention that its faintly represented and kinda flat. This doesn't come across as an IPA or any other pale for that matter. Taste is quickly over and raw, seems to have an undercooked grainy malts that lend some toasty factions but mostly reminds more of grilled corn husks then anything. Hops are inadequate and hardly approachable in abundance, whats there seems earthy light and herbal and lingering late in the finish is some vitamin-like coating and flavor. Very dull, very drab, and almost undrinkable, had to brace myself towards every sip. No sir I didn't like it and didn't finish it either.
I have one word for this, "Why" (949 characters)

The scores I gave this beer are based on it being an IPA. There is nothing about this beer that represents an IPA. This beer tastes a lot like Labatt Blue to me(which I enjoy when I want a generic lager/ale.) It barely has any flavor, and the flavor it does have isn't hops. Overall, I am very disappointed with this beer. I wont be buying it again. (349 characters)

Appearance: Slightly hazy golden-amber body. Two fingers of bubbly, off-white head that quickly fade into a ring around the glass. Below-average lacing.

Aroma: It's all just a little thin. Some citrusy hops over caramel malt and lots of booze. This is nothing like what an IPA should smell like, even if you adjust for the general thinness.

Taste: Unfortunately, the hops aren't much more potent in the mouth. They're somewhat bitter off the line, but without any of the usual floral or citrusy notes to back them up. It's much the same in the malt department. Thin, grainy pale malt just kind of chugs along in the background like the rest of the beer. Everything but some of the bitterness vanishes almost instantly. The alcohol is still somewhat prominent, but a little more hidden than in the nose. In a bizarre twist, there's a lot of soap flavor here. So much so, that the first glass that I tried I dismissed as some sort of washing-up accident where I forgot to rinse the glass before drying. But, alas, all six bottles were just as soapy.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with a good bit of frothiness and a carbonation level firmly on the high side. Finish is somewhat dry.

Drinkability: It's very bland, and rather soapy. So, while it may go down quickly, what's the point?

Verdict: Shallow, bland, and watery, Long Hammer disappoints at every turn. This would be weak even for a Pale Ale, let alone a full-blown IPA. Shame on Redhook for misusing the IPA label so badly. (1,483 characters)

Smudged brassy apicot in color, with a large-bubbled fleeting lace of dirty ivory.

I guess it looks ok.

The nose brings its impending ruin, with that fucked-up Redhook scent of bleached flour and steamed veggies-- cooked carrots especially, and also bizarre tomato nuances, oh, and the requisite spoonfuls of diacetyl-- deeper in, there are vapid straw and pine tones.
And basically, what you get on the nose is what you get in the mouth. Flour. Veggies. Burnt buttered popcorn. Vague sprucey hops. And general garbage.
Thin in feel. Thin in substance. Thick in irksome off-flavors. That equation does not equal a winner.

I was duped into thinking this was something new, and not just their old horrible IPA repackaged as a new horrible IPA. Mine didn't even have that neato split label. Fuckers. (809 characters)

Aroma is quite grainy, with a hint of adjunct sweetness. There is a faint aroma of stale hops, but you've really got to dig for it.

Flavor is rather pathetic. Raw cereal grains dominate the flavor, and it shows a pretty healthy dose of oxidation/wet cardboard flavors, despite being fresh. Hops are nowhere to be found. Tastes like a slightly heavier version of Bud. Mouthfeel is light and slick. Drinkability is decent at best.

Overall, pretty pathetic. I'd have to say that the best thing about this beer is the moderate amount of lace that sticks to the glass... Yeah, that's the best thing about a beer for me too... Don't even bother with this one. (763 characters)

Its an ok beer but not a good IPA style beer(although it claims that it is)

A- Golden in color with an offwhite head that dident stick around..S- Not much of a smell, considering its an IPA you would expect some prevalent hopps smell but its very minimalT,M- Slight hopps and bitterness but very bland to say the least...D- Ehhh, if you are in a pinch its drinkable otherwise steer clear of this sad attempt at an IPA (421 characters)

Golden ale with no head, but evident carb from the excellent clarity. Smells like I remember: soapy, resiny, some grass and musk. I used to drink beer ice cold, this concealed the nose here very well.

Taste follows through with some grass, grapefruit and metal. The sweetness of the malt is a bit much, and I'm surprised by it considering how dry it looks, can't judge a book by its cover I guess. All in all pretty simple flavor, a beer I would sick on somebody interested in IPA's, then I would hand them something better. (549 characters)

Poured a crisp light amber with a thin quickly diminishing head. The aroma was of some hops, but barely present. The taste was off-balance with an overly bitter hop presence that overpowers the malt and just leaves everything tasting off. The beer is crisp and the 6.5% is well hidden, but that does not make up for the taste. I must say I was thoroughly unimpressed by this beer, and felt obliged to follow it up with a Two Hearted to make things up to myself. (461 characters)

Poured a typical darkish golden amber with decent head, which left nce lacing as the beer was drunk. The appearance was the high point with this beer, unfortunately.

Smell really lacking in fresh hoppy aromatics, if anything, there was a skunkoid aroma.

Flavor was uninspired for an American IPA...no floral, pine or grapefruit notes as I come to expect...just malty ale taste, some of that sour sjunk, farly decent bitterness. Sort of a chore to finish, it's never good when you wish you had ordered a smaller glass so you can move on to somethng better.

My only taste of this beer at a bar that may not practice good tap line maintenance, etc., so i will gladly edit this review if I ever have the chance to taste this beer again. (795 characters)

~Pours a clearish golden amber, agressive head shrunk pretty quick, but lacing is pretty decent.
~Aroma is hoppy and piney. More piney.
~WTF. IPA? More like an amber or something. Hops are piney, but not in that nice lovely way. More like in the Pine-sol cleaner type way. in fact, thats pretty much what it tastes like. Right away isn't so bad, but it makes me cringe as it develops. 'develops.' I don't waste beer, but this one might accidentally get poured down my drain.
~Mouthfeel isn't so bad, a little oily and pretty agressive carbonation.
~No. Do not drink this beer. I usually don't slam beers,but unless you mean to punish yourself.... (650 characters)

I paid way to much for this 6 pack. I gues you could say it resembles an IPA...kind of. Its like brown ale/pale ale hybrid. When I taste it what comes to mind is taking a Fat Tire and mixing it 50-50 with a Sierra Nevada pale ale. Its not terrible, just not an IPA. I don't think I will ever drink this again. (309 characters)

Clear gold with a fluffy eggshell cap, a bit sticky on the glass with fair head retention. Not much aroma, a bit of mild citrus and malt. Thin flavour that fell away in the finish. Light malt, hint of citrus, biscuit and marshmallow. Light bodied, average carbonation. A bit disappointing overall. (297 characters)

Unless the purpose of this beer is to disappoint me, I do not believe it is successful in its mission. And I slightly resent another review which suggests that Long Hammer should be excused because it is cheap. In my view, it should be avoided because it does not have much to recommend it, regardless of its price.

It pours in appearance similar to macro-lager. It is a fairly light yellow with decent frothy head. Aroma is OK; lightly hoppy and promising good things to come. However flavor is extremely minimal. You could try to give this beer some benefit of the doubt by suggesting it is an "English" IPA, but the commercial description, which mentions the transcontinental railroad, pipeines, and skyscrapers leads me to believe that this was intended to be an American IPA, but just seriously missed the mark. Mouthfeel is slightly flat.

This beer strikes me as being brewed to be innoffensive for the mainstream beer consumer, of which I doubt there are many on this site. Redhook ESB is a fine beer...and this one is not. (1,036 characters)

Pours a clear, light caramel color; quite light for an IPA... Nice half inch head formed, but needed a heavy handed pour (perhaps just too cold). Aroma is heavy in the floral, herby hops, not any citrus noted. Quite a bit of sweet crystal malts in the nose... this one seems to be more malt forward in the nose than hops, also not boding well for style. On the palate, it's an awkward amalgamation of bitter, flavorless hops, an awfully thin body and a biting finish. There's so much lacking in this IPA that I think it's perhaps the worst I've ever had. It's very harsh and abrasive with a very fusel like finish showing its 6.5% abv closer to 11%. I don't think I'll be finishing this bottle, a big dissapointment. (716 characters)

Drinkability: As a beer over allI would probably give this a C+, B-. This is way too light for an American IPA. With an American IPA, I expect some bite--not neccessarily a hop bomb, but some hops. I would drink this beer as a lawnmower beer, but just not if I am looking for an IPA (480 characters)

Got a six pack of this junk on the way home from work. It says IPA-I like IPAs-but this shit isn't IPA. It just isn't. Try it and you'll see.

Appearance-like I said...says IPA, but isn't. I suppose the color could be that of an IPA, the typical darkish red-golden-brown, but beyond the label and color there is not any IPA here.

Smell-not any strong hoppiness like there should be. This is not IPA.

Taste-I don't know what this shit tastes like. Not IPA. It says it's bitter and on the label and as least that is the truth. I don't know how to describe this except as sort of skunky. But it wasn't skunked.

Drinkability-Considering how bitter this crap is it went down suprisingly easy. However, at the time at had this, I had just gotten done with a nice long bike ride and was shooting the shit with my riding buddy, so anything would have tasted good if it was beer. So, not so bad, but this is not that good. Don't get it if you think it is IPA. Redhook is full of crap on this one. (1,082 characters)

Appearance  The body is a very thin and clear orange, but the head is terrific. It foamed up nice and easy, lingered, and left a cool spider-web lacing.

Smell  Why is cheap grain and sucrose leading the nose on this IPA? Where are the hops?

Taste  Foul! How do we classify Ju-Ju Bees and Budweiser as an IPA? This is a light pale ale, and a poor one at that.

Mouthfeel  Light and watery but somewhat refreshing.

Sinkability  Im using this to wash down the Liquid Plummer.

Comments  I had this on tap at the brewery (I didnt take notes so I didnt post a review). I swear it wasnt nearly as bad as this.

Update  I first reviewed this in 03 so thought Id revisit this fella in 2005.

It smells a little better than I noted in my review but otherwise this basically sucks. Its grainy, clumsily hopped, and has some really cheap carbonation. With the recent move of Bear Creek Brewing, Redhook is actually the closest brewery to my house. How sad. Im raising the Smell by 0.5 and promising myself never to drink this again. (1,069 characters)